Ever since I have produced blog entries and used the internet as a platform to express my ideas and opinions, I have asked myself, whether these information are not only seen by friends and interested bloggers, but also by "unwanted individuals" (for example advertisers or governmental institutions...).
An article that I found on opendemocracy.net, deals with this idea, but focuses on Google's policy. In Andrew Brown's article, "What does Google know about you" , he examines the Google case, in wich Google was asked (among other companies such as Yahoo or MSN) by the US Department of Justice to hand over information about its clients. Since Google uses "cookies" (..."small files downloaded to a user's computer which make it recognisable to the site."), which "do not expire before 2038", Google is able to save all the information of its clients. Therefore the company is always aware of what you do and has a "identifable record everything your computer asks for".
A record the U.S. government is apparently very interested in, but so does Google. Because Google has already realized the worthiness of its clients' personal information, by selling them to advertisers and co... A conflict between Google and the government is looming, which is ultimately leading to only loser: The client.
No comments:
Post a Comment